Thursday, October 16, 2014

It's Been a Long Month

Life Goes On … In Spite of Eric Frein

Here in the Pocono Mountains in Northeastern Pennsylvania,
law enforcement officers (LEOs for short) have been searching for Eric Frein,
the accused assassin of one state trooper and attempted murderer of another,
since the ambush on September 12, over a month ago. We are told the search is
concentrated on the line between two townships in the northern part of our
county. I’m sure most people are surprised Frein is still evading the LEOs;
however, unless you’ve been in our woods, it’s hard to imagine how difficult it
is to try to track down someone in underbrush so thick a person standing three
feet away can be completely concealed. Also, the terrain is extremely
difficult. Huge boulders, rock walls thirty or more feet high with many nooks
and crannies in them, and fallen trees make moving through the woods incredibly
challenging.

People living in the “hot zone” have become accustomed to
the sound of helicopters, planes, and I believe I’ve read even drones have been
employed at this point. Since the area where Frein is believed to be hiding has
become much smaller, the number of active LEOs at any given time has been reduced.
However, they continue to seek him with caution, which is fine with us. We do
not want to see more bloodshed if it can possibly be avoided.

“Eric Frein” has become part of our consciousness.
Most people have a hard time even beginning to understand why he would have
undertaken such a deed. The trooper who was killed left behind a family that
included two young sons. The wounded trooper, to the best of my knowledge, is
still hospitalized. When … or if … he will return to duty is unknown. The first
thought on everyone’s mind in the morning is “will today be the day he’s
finally apprehended?” Morale continues to be good in our community. But we’ll
all breathe a sigh of relief when this is over. There has been a briefing by
the PSP every week, I believe, until this week. Why there was not one this week
no one seems to know.

I’d like to get Eric Frein out of my head. We all would, but
he’ll be there until this is resolved. I don’t know how the people who live in
the “hot zone” manage, but they do. We read posts on Facebook from many of
them, who generously keep us updated on the activity … as best as they
understand what is going on.

We had heavy rain last night, and many people posted
thoughts and prayers for the law enforcement officers who were out all night
continuing the hunt. What drives a person to do what Frein has done and
continues to do? It’s very difficult for me … for most people … to comprehend.

People manage to keep their lives going, though there have
been some changes throughout the community. Barrett Township, which has for a
very long time had a wonderful little Halloween Parade, has cancelled it this
year. But all schools are in full session. People continue to be vigilant. “PSP
Strong” tee-shirts were sold over the past week in several locations. The
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hockey team, the Penguins, dedicated a game last week to
the Pennsylvania State Police and there was an abundance of those tee-shirts visible
in the stands. The two little boys who lost their father just over a month ago
dropped a puck on the ice. An honor guard of troopers presented the colors. It
was very moving.

In the meantime, elsewhere in the world, very bad events are
occurring. I’ve read The Hot Zone.
Having even one case of Ebola in the United States I find very disturbing,
regardless of the assurances of the administration that an epidemic in this
country is highly unlikely. I hope they are correct. I’m not too sure.

I’d much rather write about people whose lives are filled with
music and love.

About Me

After growing up in the unique town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, I went to the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati as a vocal performance major. I met and married a tenor and we had three children, and moved to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania in 1971 where I established a private voice studio and began directing community and high school musical productions. While in Cincinnati I had the good fortune to be on the administrative staff of the Edgecliff Academy of Fine Arts and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival.

Here in the Poconos, I directed over eighty musicals from 1984-2015, and had the privilege of seeing many of my private voice students become teachers, professional performers, and most of all, find the joy in using their singing voices.

In 2013 I fulfilled a lifelong dream and wrote my first ever book, a novel entitled HOW I GREW UP, My second novel, ELI'S HEART, was published in June, 2014. My third novel, YOU ARE MY SONG, was released in January, 2015. Novel number four, JAMIE'S CHILDREN, was released in July, 2016, and MEMORIES OF JAKE in March, 2017. MAN WITH NO YESTERDAYS is scheduled to be released on Nov. 11, 2017. My first non-fiction book, "MORE FOG, PLEASE" about my 31 years as a director for community and high school musicals, was released on November 11, 2015.